Photography by Caitlin Abrams
Lacey Prpic´ Hedtke at her shop, The Future
Lacey Prpic´ Hedtke at her shop, The Future
In The Year of Avocado Toast (2017), Minneapolis is crawling with excellent bistros, buzzy cocktail bars, and boutiques selling $500 jeans made by hand in candlelit log cabins. We’re not alone. A certain homogenized hipness pervades the world’s urban centers, making them feel, at times, like CB2 catalogues come to life. Thank god, then, for witches. Specifically Lacey Prpic´ Hedtke, a photographer, medium, and arts administrator who’s doing her best to keep her funky little corner of south Minneapolis free of reclaimed wood and Edison light bulbs.
Prpic´ Hedtke runs a community space where, in her words, “witchy women, queer and trans folk, and anyone else can meet and get tarot cards or crystals from local artists.” The 36-year-old Twin Cities native came up with the concept, called The Future, while living in Boston and immersing herself in Spiritualism, a belief system based on communication between spirits and the living (she’s wearing a “Ghosts Are Awesome” T-shirt the day we meet).
“When I moved home, I craved the kind of DIY space that Minneapolis used to have more of,” says Prpic´ Hedtke. So in March, she unveiled her own clubhouse at 35th and 23rd, on the border of the Powderhorn Park and Corcoran neighborhoods. It’s the perfect part of town for a witch community center—affordable, kind of edgy, teeming with sympathetic hippies.
After opening The Future, Prpic´ Hedtke learned that many of the surrounding businesses shared an interest in the metaphysical. “I joked with my friends at Sea Wolf Tattoo up the street that we’re in the ‘Witch District,’” she says, showing us around her space. In front is a tiny shop stocked with locally made jewelry, oils for astrological energy boosts, and magazines like Sabat, which Prpic´ Hedtke describes as “Vogue for witches.” In the back is a meeting area with high ceilings and a large table in the middle. There’s a full kitchen here, too, and a small library with books on magic and tarot readings.
What began as a tongue-in-cheek observation is now a semi-serious movement led by The Future and its like-minded neighbors—places like Hair and Nails Contemporary Art, Imbue Yoga, and the Women’s Woodshop. The goal? To support female-owned businesses, foster an interest in casual witchcraft (the friendly kind; no curses here), and basically keep the area weird.
“You know how some parts of the city have banners that show a characteristic of the neighborhood?” says Prpic´ Hedtke. “I think we need banners with broomsticks.”
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At work in the Women’s Woodshop
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Sea Wolf Tattoo
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Modern Times
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Some of The Future’s wares
Where is the Witch District?
Its borders are nebulous, but start your visit at The Future (2223 E. 35th St., Mpls., 612-817-1838, thefuturempls.com) and work your way west for a mile or so.
Which businesses comprise the Witch District?
▪ Imbue Yoga 2223 E. 35th St.
▪ Punk Rawk LabsVegan Cheeses 2224 E. 35th St.
▪ Hair and Nails Contemporary Art 2222 1/2 E. 35th St.
▪ Women’s Woodshop 2237 E. 38th St.
▪ Sea Wolf Tattoo 1832 E. 35th St.
▪ The White Page Gallery 3400 Cedar Ave. S.
▪ MirrorLab project space 3402 Cedar Ave. S.
▪ Modern Times 3200 Chicago Ave. S.
